Santorini to Cap Number of Cruise Ship Visitors

The popular Greek island is the latest destination asking guests to stay home.

Call it an official trend: Greece's Santorini is the latest destination to limit its visitor numbers in the face of overcrowding and complaints from locals. According to the Hellenic Port Association, which keeps data on all of Greece's many ports, Santorini was the busiest port in the country in 2015, with 636 cruise ships bringing a total of 790,000 people to the famed blue-and-white island.

This may soon change: Greece's Ekathimerini newspaper reports that Santorini will cap cruise ship visitor numbers to 8,000 per day. While that still seems like a big number, during peak season last year (May-September) it was common to have 10,000 or more per day—often arriving all at the same time. This adds Santorini to a growing list of destinations who are limiting the number of visitors permitted, including Italy's Cinque Terre, which will begin requiring travelers coming there to purchase a ticket online, and Peru's Machu Picchu, which restricts daily visitors and requires all people at the site to remain on one of three approved trails. Currently, there aren't any plans to limit the number of people who come to Santorini by air, since the number is significantly smaller.

For 2016, Greek officials will be somewhat flexible with enforcing the 8,000-a-day rule, since many cruise ship itineraries have already been finalized and it's too late to change them. After that, travelers coming to Greece by boat may need to rethink their travel plans, as the limitations are expected to be fully in effect by 2017. Might we suggest some of these under-the-radar islands like Naxos and Antiparos?